May 26Mourning the loss of silence: how tinnitus interrupted my lifeYou sit looking at a lake, watching as a couple of loons pierce the pristine glaze of the water’s surface. Clumps of clouds hang in the sky, painted violet by the setting sun. You hear the hum of a boat’s motor in the distance — it fades into nothing. The…Mental Health15 min read
Feb 33 examples of great content design in video gamesContains game spoilers While scraping my molars, the dentist asked me what I did for a living. “Imma wry-er,” I said. She stopped and removed various implements from my mouth. “I’m a writer,” I repeated, more clearly this time. But saying I’m a writer is a simplification. I write words…Videogames11 min read
Oct 28, 2021Welcome to tech, here’s your jargon translatorSo you’ve landed a job in tech. Congratulations! But don’t pop that bubbly just yet, because the real work starts here. Namely: do you speak tech? No? Don’t panic. Just bookmark this handy jargon translator — you’ll be confidently serving up the hottest buzzwords and impressing your peers in no…Jargon5 min read
Sep 14, 20216 video games that helped me deal with deathWarning: this article contains a) talk about death and b) spoilers. Avoid reading if either of those cause distress. I’ve never grieved anyone’s death. Properly grieved, I mean. My mum’s parents died before my first birthday. …Videogames19 min read
Jan 13, 20219 Knowledge Grenades For The Work RevolutionThis article contains swear words that some may consider “offensive”. If you can’t handle my raw, unfiltered realness, I expect you’re not handling life very well in general. Last summer I founded my own company. “What?” I hear you whimper in disbelief. …Entrepreneurship7 min read
Apr 7, 2020We’re at war: The language of COVID-19Harry Potter’s nasally-challenged nemesis, Lord Voldemort, is so feared that he’s referred to as “He Who Must Not Be Named” by people of the wizarding world. Much like a J.K. Rowling character, I find myself stumbling over my words as I talk about… you know… the situation we’re all in…Language7 min read
Published in UX Collective·Jan 13, 202015 failed attempts at describing UX writing at parties1. The Simplifier “I’m a UX writer.” “What’s that?” “You know apps?” (chuckles) “Yes, I do know apps.” “What’s your favourite app?” “Well I subscribe to The New York Times, I use that a fair bit.” “Right. Well in your New York Times app, there are a lot of words.” “Yes. Oh, you…Ux Writing4 min read
Published in Writing at Typeform·Nov 14, 2019It’s time to silence the voice and tone guide“We need a voice and tone guide,” says someone at your company. Voice and tone guides are in fashion. Monzo has one. Salesforce has one. Even Texas State University has one. You don’t have one? …Copywriting8 min read
Published in Writing at Typeform·Oct 14, 2019“We’ve updated our terms”: How to make the mundane remarkableDo you listen carefully to announcements at train stations? Me neither. The familiar voices tend to blend into the usual hum of station noise — people chatting, train wheels screeching, escalators squeaking. But London Underground had an idea: what if we used a child’s voice? They recorded the daughter of…Copywriting7 min read
Published in Writing at Typeform·Jul 31, 2019Is UX writing boring?Writers are motivated by the endless possibilities the blank page can afford. Writing without rules, your imagination can run riot. The image you create can be as abstract as you want. The canvas as big as you want. So what happens when you add restrictions? Take space, for example. Now…UX7 min read
